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Yohji Yamamoto

Yohji Yamamoto's distinguished career, spanning five decades, has marked him out as one of the most consistently innovative international fashion designers. After graduating from Bunkafukuso Gakuin school of fashion in 1969, he went on to present his first womenswear collections in Tokyo, Paris and New York in 1977, and his first menswear collection in Paris, 1984. Renowned for the simple appearance of his designs, coupled with the sophistication of their construction, Yohji has accrued numerous awards. In addition to designing for his own mainline collections and his additional line, Y's, Yohji has collaborated with a diverse range of creatives from filmmakers Wim Wenders and Takeshi Kitano to the Opera de Lyon, the Wagner Opera, the Kanagawa Art Festival Opera, the Pina Bausch Company and Ryuichi Sakamoto.

Selected Projects

Designed costumes for Takeshi Kitano's film 'Brother', 2000

Designed costumes for Ryuichi Sakamoto's production of 'Life', 1999

Contributed to the 25th anniversary of te Pina Bausch Company in Wuppertal, 1998

Designed costumes for the Wagner Opera's production of 'Tristan and Isolde' in Bayreuth, 1993

Designed costumes for the Opera de Lyon's production of Puccini's 'Madama Butterfly', 1990

Collaborated on Wim Wenders' film 'Notebook on Cities and Clothes', 1989

Selected Awards

International Award, 18th Annual Council of Fashion Designers of America, 1999

Arte e Moda Award, Pitti Immagine, Florence, 1998

Designers Award, 40th Fashion Editors Club, 1997

Chevailer de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from the French Minister of Culture, 1994